Taylor Swift-mania has reached Harvard University, which is set to offer a class on the billionaire singer-songwriter next semester.
The "Maroon" songstress is getting the Crimson treatment thanks to English professor Stephanie Burt, who is also a poet and podcast host, in the spring, where the class is listed alongside ones on Toni Morrison, "The Canterbury Tales," the history and practice of the essay and video game storytelling.
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The course listing for Taylor Swift and Her World, English 183, says it will "move through Swift's own catalogue, including hits, deep cuts, outtakes, re-recordings, considering songwriting as its own art, distinct from poems recited or silently read," covering fan and celebrity cultures, Swift's literary influences and more.
"We are lucky enough to be living in a time when one of our major artists is also one of the most famous people on the planet," Burt told The Harvard Crimson's magazine this month. "Why would you not have a course on that?"
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Harvard's not the only school letting students take a close look at Taylor Swift. Across the Charles River in Boston, Berklee College of Music has been offering a class on her songwriting.
Seats for The Music of Taylor Swift filled up just as fast as her concerts, according to professor Scarlet Keys, who let NBC10 Boston sit in on a class, in which students listen to one of Swift's songs and then discuss the techniques she used, including melodies and metaphors. Their homework is coming up with their own versions and performing them.
The course has become so popular that Keys will offer two sections of it next semester just to keep up with the demand.
The University of Florida and Rice University are getting in on the act, too.
